Visiting Colorado soon? Here’s a guide to 4 days in Colorado, with time spent in Denver, Boulder, Rocky Mountain National Park, and Colorado Springs! Looking for some of the best things to do in Colorado? Keep on reading!
We visited Colorado for the first time together during the summer of 2017 and had a super fun long weekend exploring three major cities, Rocky Mountain National Park, and eating delicious food. We always say that if we were to live anywhere else besides the West Coast, it would definitely be Colorado!
From the awesome food and coffee scene to the endless outdoor adventures, it’s our kind of state! You could easily spend more than 4 days in Colorado and we have so much of the state left to explore, but if you’re considering heading to The Centennial State for the first time and want to visit some of the main cities (Denver, Boulder, and Colorado Springs) and Rocky Mountain National Park without breaking the bank, here’s an itinerary for 4 days in Colorado to help you out!
Note: This itinerary is based out of Denver and involves a decent amount of driving, but the drives are typically very scenic and worth it! If you are only going to spend time in a couple of these areas, check out our “if you have extra time” section at the end for more ideas of things to do in Colorado and places to eat!
To read a more detailed recap of our trip to Colorado, check out our blog!
Note: this blog contains affiliate links. Full disclosure– if you click on these links and make a purchase, we get a small commission at no extra cost to you. We will only ever recommend products we truly love, actually use during our adventures, and think you can benefit from too!
Where to stay in Colorado
We recommend staying in Denver because it’s the most central spot to all of the destinations on this guide and has a great food scene. On the days we traveled outside of Denver, we loved coming back to Denver at night for a delicious dinner and some ice cream. :)
Some good Airbnb options in Denver are: Option #1, Option #2, Option #3. If you prefer a hotel, The Crawford, inside of Denver’s Union Station looks super cool!
And if you’d rather stay in one of the other cities, here are a few good options:
Boulder: Airbnb Option #1, Airbnb Option #2, Airbnb Option #3, Hotel Boulderado, St. Julien Hotel & Spa
Colorado Springs: Airbnb Option #1, Airbnb Option #2, Airbnb Option #3
PS: If it is your first time staying at an Airbnb, click this link to get $40 off your first stay!
Getting Around Colorado
While within Denver and Boulder you could easily walk or take an Uber/Lyft around, we highly recommend renting a car for your trip so you can easily get from city to city and to the mountains.
Day 1: Denver
- Grab coffee at Huckleberry Roasters! We loved the murals both inside and outside of this coffee shops, as well as their seasonal drinks!
- Get breakfast at Snooze, an A.M. Eatery. This place is SO good! They are originally from Colorado, but have locations in Texas, Arizona, and California, but it’s worth checking them out in their hometown. Make sure to get their pancake flight! If you’ve had Snooze before, check out Sassafras American Eatery instead!
- Wander around Union Station, which is a beautiful renovated train station from 1914. It’s still a working train station, but is also home to restaurants (like Snooze, mentioned above!) and shops!
- Walk around downtown Denver. Some spots to visit:
- Larimer Square—such a cute little street!
- The Crush Walls, which are a bunch of cool murals! We loved the murals in the RiNo area especially!
- Explore and have lunch at the Denver Central Market. This indoor market has multiple restaurants to choose from, a bar, coffee, and more! After finishing lunch, grab an ice cream flight from High Point Creamery, which is also in the market and sooo good!
- Head to Red Rocks Park and hike the Red Rocks Trail and then stay for an outdoor concert among the red rocks! You can check out their concert schedule here. Not a fan of anyone playing during your trip? Check out a game at Coors Field instead or go brewery hopping!
- Note: If you go to Red Rocks you’ll want to pack a dinner or snack to eat before the concert. Trader Joe’s in Denver has lots of great pre-made options!
Day 2: Boulder
- Kick off the morning with breakfast at Denver Biscuit Co. before heading to Boulder (a 35 minute drive). This biscuit spot has been featured on Diners, Drive Ins, and Dives and is a super popular spot in town, so try to get there early!
- Grab coffee at Boxcar Coffee Roasters in Boulder. This is right on Pearl Street, which is the coolest little street with a view of the mountains.
- Walk around Pearl Street Mall. This tree-lined street is super cute and a bit touristy at times, but we love walking around it! Boulder Book Store was one of our favorite finds on Pearl Street.
- Have a quick lunch on Pearl Street. A handful of cheap options:
- Hike the trails at Chautauqua Park! We recommend the Royal Arch Trail—3.4 miles, 1,358 ft elevation gain. Make sure you’re adjusted to the altitude change (unlike we were) otherwise this will feel a LOT harder!
- Dinner at Mountain Sun Pub & Brewery. This is a cash only spot is a Boulder institution and has a lot of variety for all different taste buds.
- For dessert, head over to Gelato Boy!
- Head back to Denver for the night. Try to get some sleep because tomorrow will be a big adventure!
Day 3: Rocky Mountain National Park
- Leave Denver bright and early to drive to Rocky Mountain National Park, which is a 1.5 hour drive. It gets crazy busy there in the summer and parking can be hard (and there are long shuttle lines), so try to leave as early as possible.
NOTE: Rocky Mountain National Park now has timed entry in the park between June 4-October 12 to help control crowds. Reserve your time to enter here. - Before you officially get to the park, grab breakfast + Coffee at Kind Coffee in Estes Park. It’s a little coffee shop with food options right on the river…super pretty! If you want a sit down option, check out Notchtop Bakery & Cafe.
- Head to Rocky Mountain National Park. As we mentioned above, arrive early and use their free shuttle if you’re going during peak season.
- Hike the Emerald Lake Trail (3.2 miles, 620 ft elevation gain), which starts at Bear Lake and passes Nymph and Dream Lakes before ending at Emerald Lake. This hike is gorgeous and all of the lakes are so pretty!
- Pack a picnic lunch to enjoy between hikes.
- Hike from Bear Lake to Alberta Falls and Mills Lake—5.4 miles, 938 ft elevation gain. We loved this hike! Mills Lake was a lot less busy than Emerald Lake and the views were gorgeous (the main photo for this guide was taken from the Mills Lake hike!)
- Walk around Estes Park—Inkwell & Brew is a cool coffee shop if you need a caffeine boost!
- Head back to Denver for dinner. We highly recommend Chop Shop Casual Urban Eatery. It was one of our favorite meals our whole trip! The food feels very high quality and fancy, but it’s an order at the counter joint
. - Walk across the street to grab dessert at Nuggs Ice Cream. You hiked over 8.5 miles, you deserve it!
Day 4: Colorado Springs
- Leave Denver relatively early to drive to Colorado Springs, which is about 1 hour 15 minutes away from Denver. You’ll want to make sure to have enough time to explore there!
- Drive to the top of Pike’s Peak—the round trip journey to the 14,114′ summit is between 2-3 hours. It does cost money to do this ($10/adult or $35/car with up to 5 people), but the views are amazing!
- Explore the trails at Garden of the Gods. This park is SO cool and really fun (and easy) to walk around. It’s perfect for all ages and athletic abilities!
- Head back to Denver for dinner. Some options:
- Enjoy one last ice cream at Little Man Ice Cream or Sweet Action Ice Cream (Can you tell we love ice cream?!)
If you have extra time…
Have more than 4 days in Colorado? Here is a list of more things to do in Colorado, including food, hikes, and more!
Food
- Torchy’s Tacos–Our favorite taco shop from Austin is also in Denver! Not local, but so dang good. Get the queso!
- Tocabe (Denver)
- Chook Charcoal Chicken (Denver)
- Jelly Cafe (Denver)
- Sam’s No. 3 Downtown (Denver)
- Birdcall (Denver)
- Onefold (Denver)
- Pony Up (Denver)
- Biker Jim’s Gourmet Dogs (Denver)
- Las Tortas (Denver)
- Boulder Dushanbe Teahouse (Boulder)
- Snarf’s sandwiches (Boulder)
- Pizzeria Locale (Boulder)
- The Buff Restaurant (Boulder)
- Blackbelly Market (Boulder–a little pricier)
- Avery Brewing (Boulder)
- Urban Steam (Colorado Springs)
- Shuga’s (Colorado Springs)
- Garden of the Gods Market and Cafe (Colorado Springs)
- Monse Pupuseria (Colorado Springs)
- Paravicini’s Italian Bistro (Colorado Springs)
Coffee
Colorado has a solid coffee scene!
- Blue Sparrow Coffee (Denver)
- Little Owl Coffee (Denver)
- Corvus Coffee Roasters (Denver)
- Thump Coffee (Denver)
- Crema Coffee House (Denver)
- Prodigy Coffee (Denver)
- Ozo Coffee (Boulder)
- Beleza Coffee Bar (Boulder)
- Story Coffee Company (Colorado Springs)
Activities
- Climb one of the 14ers
- Walk up 2,744 steps at the Manitou Springs Incline–3.6 miles, 1,860 ft elevation gain
- Hike to Seven Falls in Colorado Springs
- Visit more towns! High up on our list is Aspen to hike the Maroon Bells.
- Explore more National Parks! Colorado is home to 4 total and more information on them can be found here.
Heading to Colorado?
Pin this 4 days in Colorado itinerary + guide to help plan your trip!
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